No, it's not because you called Tom Brady a gross body part that I can't say in printed media, and no, it's not because you said "[bleep] him" when expanding upon your thoughts on the Patriots' quarterback.
It is, quite simply, because you said these three words: "He hates me."
Mr. Cromartie, let me be the 671st person to tell you that you are a bit delusional. We knew that when you said HBO tried to make you look bad for not remembering your kids' names in August, but now you've really lost it.
Do you really think Tom Brady even thinks about you? Ever?
He is a three-time Super Bowl champion, a two-time Super Bowl MVP, a soon-to-be two-time NFL MVP and is in the conversation as being the best quarterback to ever play the game.
You? You're famous because one fateful night in San Diego in 2007, you intercepted three Peyton Manning passes. The week before, you broke a 109-yard return on a missed field goal. Other than those two flashes of brilliance, you haven't shown much to make anyone believe you're a great player. You're pretty good, and you have your specific skill set, and your kick return last week was as big a play as any, but you're far from great.
That, of course, doesn't mean you're not allowed to hate Tom Brady. Even Brady himself admitted that Cromartie's not the only one that feels that way. Certainly, Terrell Suggs feels similarly. I'm sure the entire city of Pittsburgh isn't all that infatuated with Brady, not after his demonstrative spike in the end zone earlier this season (not to mention his knack for crushing the Steelers' souls in the playoffs). And it's not just limited to football players, either, as I'm sure Bridget Moynahan is still a little miffed about that whole leaving a pregnant girlfriend to start dating a supermodel thing that happened a few years ago.
But still, your comments were a little off base, particularly when you said you "play against the receivers" and you don't play against Brady. If that's the case, then shouldn't you hate Deion Branch? He's the one who was burning you left and right all night back in December. He beat you on a post pattern early in the game, but Brady got so excited that he overthrew his target by about 30 yards. Then he ran a comeback route while getting 10 yards of separation from you, and by the time you caught up to him, he was in position to break your tackle and sprint to the end zone.
Your coaches obviously noticed how badly you were struggling and tried to throw you a bone later in the game by putting you in man coverage on Brandon Tate. You probably wondered, "Who is Brandon Tate?" Then you found out, as he snuck past you to score a touchdown.
So really, your hatred is more than a little bit misdirected.
Plus, when you look back upon the last defensive back who was unfortunate enough to have spoken ill of Mr. Brady, it didn't work out well. I believe the Patriots and Brady when they say they didn't target Steelers safety Anthony Smith specifically because he guaranteed a win over the undefeated Pats, but I do believe they targeted him specifically because he was not very good. He got embarrassed several times by Brady, and the Steelers lost by 21 points. Smith was largely to blame.
You'll be lucky if you don't suffer the same fate.
Still, while your thoughts are certainly kind of crazy, they are still appreciated. What you've done is add yet another storyline to a game that didn't need anymore. At the same time, you've made your organization look more like a WWE tag team on Monday Night Raw than a football team trying to win a Super Bowl. You've made Rex Ryan look conservative in his statements, which was previously unfathomable. For that, we thank you, but really, I'm not sure what you were thinking.
